The life of Roland, a paladin?
by Kane77
Summary: Times are hard and the world has many trials for Roland. Hes just a paladin trying to stay good, but its hard when your beliefs are boiled down to a two word limit of "Lawful Good". After all morality is subjective, ethics change over time and by culture. Watch as Roland struggles to justify his actions to friends, comrades and himself. Inspired by 3.5 sessions with friends.


_A/N This is my first story. I will be using 3.5 as the basis for these rules and this is mostly venting about my friends tendency to argue ethics and morality in game but only in regards to players playing paladins. This may in fact develop a serious plot but might still end up being a bunch short stories. Please tell me what you think. My apologies for the grammar. Since this is based on 3.5 rules, monsters and so on I put in the D &D section. Please let me know if I need to move it somewhere else._

 _Disclaimer: I do not own D &D 3.5 or anything legally associated with it._

Roland Shattered the last skeletal knight with his mace, it's holy energies leaving nothing but hollow armor and dust. They had done it, they had defeated the forces of Charles The Long Handed, Now all that was left was to kill the man himself. The fighter who had become the leader of the group stepped forward.

"It's over Charles! Your forces are crushed and goals shattered." yelled Tagg, Roland took that as his cue, moving forward and raising his mace in the air, he was going to enjoy this, all the death this man had caused. Finally it would be brought to an end. The wisps of evil energy wafted off Charles. Bringing his mace down, licking his lips at the look of helplessness on the monsters face.

"Wait, I plead for your mercy Tagg! Take me to the Tower of Repentance, I will serve my sentence there" yelled Charles as he dropped his barely missed flinching from the loud interruption. Roland growled and rolled his eyes, the Tower of Repentance was 10 days away...on horses...which they had lost. Far too long to let Charles live, who knew what he had concocted in that head of his. Bringing down his again mace only to be interrupted by a loud yell, again.

"WAIT! Roland, he's helpless and surrendering we can't kill him." yelled Tagg, Roland turned to look at him.

"Wait, wait ,wait; your not serious? Right!? This man has killed hundreds of people and used their corpses as soldiers to kill more! We didn't even capture his lieutenants, what if they break him out!. There's so many things that could go wrong." Roland motioned for their Ranger, a woman named Emily to take up a guarding position as he turned to face Tagg.

"Roland, he has asked to be taken to the Tower of Repentance, showing a willingness to change. Furthermore he's unarmed and what kind of friend would I be if I let you fall to his level." Tagg's reply caused Roland's eye began to twitch. Thanking his god that his helmet hid his face. He opened his mouth to respond only to be cut off.

"Wait we can't kill Charles but we can kill his 15 year old twin children? which we did by shoving them off a cliff and ignoring their screams of pain." spoke Emily. Roland nodded his winged helm, it had even been Tagg that had done it. Without a shred of remorse, given the situation had been slightly different and in the heat of combat but they were kids...and much closer to the Tower of Repentance...so you know less of a hassle.

"Roland, Aren't you a paladin shouldn't you be all about preserving life and sparing opponents who can't fight back and all that crap. I would have thought better of you." a fourth voice broke in, Isabel their rogue stood next to Tagg with her arms crossed. Roland glared.

"Like you have any room to talk Isabel you let me and Emily fall through a goddamned hole in the ground! just to get first dibs on gold, so help me God if you preach at me about letting a mass murderer live after that bullshit! I will bury you in that same hole." He still had scars from that fucking trap; stupid Kobolds. Roland as sighed as a the fifth and final voice of the party entered this debate.

"I mean, your barking up the wrong tree on that one anyway, I mean come on Isabel, you know that Roland is the worst paladin ever. Hell there's a good chance he has a hard on from killing Charles minions or even the thought of killing the man himself" roland tuned out as the voice continued to list his possible enjoyment in killing only tuning back in at the end. "that being said, I am on his side this time." as Gareth, their resident sorcerer, spoke. Roland raised his arms up as if asking "why man". Dropping his arms Roland grunted, he supposed this counted as a victory, and he didn't have hard on...they had only killed undead.

"Wait" began Tagg. " Can paladins do that, I thought they had to be virtuous crusaders of truth and righteousness or something like that. Can you even call yourself a paladin if you take pleasure in causing pain to others." as Tagg finished Rolands eye twitch suddenly skyrocketed. Walking over to Tagg, looming over the shorter man and grabbing him by his mail shirt.

"First of all obviously we can, I am one, Second you are fucking judging me on proclivities I may or may not have. Which by the way are none of your fucking business, but in a my defense, just a small thing really, but I have never fucking eaten a baby for dark power HE HAS, IT'S LITERALLY STILL DRIPPING FROM HIS CHIN, so lets chill it with the grade school morality and kill this fucker before he summons up some demons, shoots lightning or something else ! " letting Tagg go and feeling a small pang of twisted satisfaction. Roland turned around and raised his mace once again. Tagg sighed.

"I won't let you do this" drawing his blade and assuming a fighting position with Isabel doing the same.

" I just want to point out if we fight I am siding with Roland and Gareth probably will to, which would put you up against a Sorcerer and two magic using knights. One of which for the record you just watch be not only accused of outright sadism, but also poorly deny it." as Emily spoke Gareth nodded and Roland sighed at again being accused of taking pleasure in killing others. "Going even further it's a chick wearing leather and two knives and a guy without a helmet with a sword. Versus a man that can shoot lightning, a fully armored knight and a woman who has an arrow pointed at your head. " Isabel raised her eyebrows as Emily spoke and took two steps away from Tagg

"I won't let you make this mistake, I won't let you fall off the righteous path." Roland sighed, why were paladins always stereotyped as either a honorable idiot or an about to fall asshole, clerics didn't have to put up with this shit. As Roland contemplated his life was interrupted.

"For fucks sake!" a pale beam lept from Gareth's finger impacting Charles leaving nothing but a pile of dust. "There, He's dead and we are done". Roland nodded at him. Didn't this start out about Tagg wanting to spare Charles not protect Roland?.

"Good you have saved Roland's soul!"

...Goddammit...

 _Please review_


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